Halloween With The Bransons
by gothamgirl28
Summary: 31 Days, 31 Prompts. Set in the same universe as 25 Days of the Bransons, the continuing adventures of the Bransons as they embrace autumn and prepare for Halloween.
1. Apple Cider Donuts

I wasn't originally planning to write an entire collection of stories for Halloween. However, the Yankee Countess posted Halloween prompts and messaged me that she thought of my modern Bransons au (25 Days of the Bransons). My mind began to plot.

* * *

 **London**

Tom took a sip of his chili mocha as he waited in the queue at Maggie's Bakery Cafe. He had purposely gotten up early to arrive at the shop before it opened. However, he wasn't the only one and Tom found himself farther back in line than he hoped to be.

 _I just hope they still have the donuts Sybil wants by the time I get to the front_ , he thought as he took another sip.

Ten minutes later, Tom was finally being served. The owner, Maggie, smiled when she saw him.

"Morning, Tom. I take it you came out for the apple cider donuts."

Tom chuckled. "Me and everyone else Maggie."

She grinned in response. "How many do you need?"

" I need a half dozen of those, three of the pumpkin donuts, and three nutella donuts. Do you have any donut holes today?"

"Of course! Let me guess half apple cider and half chocolate."

He laughed. "You know the Bransons well, Maggie."

Maggie laughed in response. "Well, Sybil is in here it seems every other day lately." She paused to take the box of donuts from her assistant, when a grin came over her face.

"Liz, do we have any cinnamon donut holes today."

"Yes. Benny just finished making a fresh patch."

"Fantastic." She turned towards Tom. "I'm going to throw in some of those as well. On the house. Rory and Moira were in last week and went mad over them."

Tom gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, Maggie. I don't mind paying for them."

"Nonsense. Those two bring me such joy whenever they come. And you and Sybil are such loyal customers. It's a thank you gift."

A few minutes later, Tom paid for the donuts and returned to his in-laws house in Belgravia. The Bransons had moved over the summer to London to make Sybil's commute easier for her until they permanently moved to Ireland in March. Instead of renting a house or flat, Robert and Cora invited them to stay in their London house. It was an offer too good to pass up.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked in the front door and was greeted by the chaos only a four year old and nearly two year old could cause. Rory was heartily laughing as he was being chased by Moira. From the looks of it, his son had something of his sister's in his hand and wasn't going to return it easily.

Rolling his eyes, Tom placed the box of donuts on a table and went to break up the ruckus. However, his wife entered the hallway at that moment.

"There you are!" she exclaimed. "I was wondering where you went."

He gestured towards the box. "I went to Maggie's for donuts."

Her eyes widened in delight. "Did you get the apple cider ones?"

He chuckled. "Of course. Will six be enough for you and the baby?"

Sybil pretended to be annoyed as she rubbed her belly. At eight months pregnant, her current craving was anything with apples and Maggie's apple cider donuts were her go to food.

"Six will be plenty."

Just then, Rory tackled Moira in a fierce hug and the two squealed loudly. Sybil groaned, walked over to the table and grabbed a donut. Biting into it, Sybil moaned in delight.

"I'm so glad it's apple cider season."

Tom laughed. "Me too, love."


	2. Candy Corn

**Author's Note:** This is shorter than I originally planned it to be due to time constraints on my end. I hope you all enjoy this one.

* * *

2 October 2016

Sybil took a sip of her peppermint tea, enjoying a quiet house for the first time in what felt like forever. Tom and Moira were spending the afternoon together at the V&A Children's Museum and Rory had finally fallen asleep ten minutes ago after refusing to go down for his much needed nap for a half hour.

She took another sip and sighed. Returning to her task, Sybil opened the small package from her Grandma Martha. It had arrived at their house late last night after Moira and Rory were asleep. Being too exhausted themselves, Tom and her decided to hold off on opening it until the morning.

However, the morning had come and gone without that happening. Sybil decided to open the package while Moira was out and Rory was sleeping. _Heaven knows it would be near impossible to do this with both of them here,_ she thought.

She opened the package and chuckled at what was inside. Candy corn from America. Sybil laughed remembering the Halloween she and her sisters spent in America when they were children and how the three of them binged on candy corn. The three sisters ended up with belly aches from all the candy corn they ate.

Smiling, Sybil started to open the bag of candy when she heard the front door open and the hurried feet of her daughter. She carefully put the partially open bag on the table and greeted her first born. She forgot about the candy as her daughter happily told her all about her day at the museum.

* * *

 _ **A few hour later…**_

The Branson family were sitting together in the family room watching _The Jungle Book_ after enjoying a lovely meal of Chinese takeout. Moira and Rory were sitting on the floor watching the film while their parents sat on the sofa, Sybil curled into her husband. At some point the two dozed off, waking up when Moira yelled at her brother.

"Rory!" she bellowed. "Mummy, Rory's eating something."

Sybil and Tom's eyes popped open and quickly found their son. Rory was clasping the bag of candy corn and was munching on one of them. Unlike his mother, it was apparent Rory did not like what he was eating.

Rory's face screwed up in disgust and he quickly spit out the candy corn, proclaiming "Yucky!"

Tom popped up from the couch and quickly cleaned up the candy from the floor. As he did that, Rory tottled over to his mum, clearly displeased that what he ate did not taste good.

Hugging her son close, Sybil thought _More for me_ ….


	3. Cauldron

Sybil held Rory's hand as they walked down the aisle of the fancy dress shop, looking at the toddler costumes. She wanted to get an idea of what was out there for her son before Tom and her picked out a costume for him. Or rather bought the costume Rory picked for himself.

Little Rory Branson had developed quite the impish personality in the last six months. No had become his favorite word and he delighted in annoying his older sister. It wasn't that he misbehaved all the time but that he had developed quite a stubborn streak. In a now memorable phone call with her mother-in-law, Sybil had learned her beloved Tom had acted the same way when he was his son's age. _The apple didn't fall far from the tree_ , she thought.

Today, though, Rory had so far been incredibly sweet and calm, even hugging his mum's belly several times and not once saying no. Sybil hoped that kept up throughout their little excursion to the store.

Reaching the end of the aisle, Sybil began to turn. At that moment, something caught Rory's attention and the little boy broke free from his mother's grasp, making a mad dash straight towards the Halloween decorations.

Sybil let out an exasperated sigh and muttered, "Bugger."

She followed as quickly as she could, but he had already dashed out of sight.

"Rory," she called out.

She turned down another aisle. "Rory, are you there?"

As she kept calling for after her son and received no response, Sybil began to worry. What if someone took him?

Turning down an aisle filled with Halloween party decorations, she finally lost her cool. "Rory Michael Branson, tell me where you are right now!"

The only response Sybil received was a soft, but hearty chuckle coming from the cauldron display. She walked over, not seeing her son as she approached. Reaching the display, she heard an even louder chuckle.

Looking down, Sybil found Rory, sitting inside a huge cauldron filled with candy. He popped his head over the brim with an impish grin.

"Hi mummy!" he exclaimed, laughter following his words.

Sybil fought the urge to laugh. It will only encourage him.

However, she did take out her phone and took a picture of her son sitting in the cauldron. She quickly sent it off to Maureen with an accompanying message.

Sybil: Your grandson sitting in a cauldron filled with candy. Did Tom ever do something like this?

Five minutes late, her mother-in-law replied.

Maureen: Lol! He truly is Tom's son.


	4. Monster Mash

I'm not sure about the ending of this, but I hope you all enjoy it!

* * *

Tom placed the lamb chops into the oven and then checked on the potatoes. After doing the fork test and seeing that they were ready, he drained them. He turned towards the kitchen table where his daughter was drawing.

"Moira, I'm going to mash the potatoes. Do you want to help?"

The little girl's eyes widened in delight. "Yes!"

Moira hopped off of the chair and scurried towards her father. As she did this, Tom pulled out a step stool for her to stand on. He checked to make sure they had everything to mash the potatoes: masher, butter, milk. Check, check, check.

Moira tugged on her daddy's arm. "Can we put on the Halloween songs?"

Tom nodded his head. "We can." He reached for his iPhone and selected the Halloween playlist he created for his kids. He pressed play and creaking sounds briefly filled the kitchen.

I was working in the lab, late one night

When my eyes beheld an eerie sight

For my monster from his slab, began to rise

And suddenly to my surprise

Moira began to dance on the stool. She briefly paused to squeal in delight at the purple potatoes in front of her.

Tom chuckled. "Let's start making the monster mash potatoes."

He grabbed the masher and began to mash the potatoes as his daughter sang along to the song.

 _He did the mash, he did the monster mash  
_ _The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash  
_ _He did the mash, it caught on in a flash  
_ _He did the mash, he did the monster mash_

"Your turn," he said to her.

Moira grabbed the masher and began to mash the potatoes. She continued singing along to the music even when it changed to "Purple People Eater."

 _It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater  
_ _(One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater)  
_ _A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater  
_ _Sure looks strange to me (One eye?)_

For the next several minutes, Moira and Tom continued taking turns mashing the potatoes, adding butter, salt and milk when it was necessary. When they were finally ready, Tom went to check on the lamb chops. While he did this, Moira grabbed his phone and changed the song back to "Monster Mash". As it began to play, she sang along.

 _I was working in the lab, late one night  
_ _When my eyes beheld an eerie sight  
_ _For my monster from his slab, began to rise  
_ _And suddenly to my surprise  
_

 _He did the mash, he did the monster mash  
_ _The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash  
_ _He did the mash, it caught on in a flash  
_ _He did the mash, he did the monster mash_

Tom chuckled as glanced at his daughter, singing "Monster Mash" to their monster mash. Sybil and Rory came in at that moment. Moira jumped off her stool and grabbed her little brother's hands to dance with him. The two siblings laughed together as they tried to mash to the song, falling to the floor in a heap of giggles.

Sybil looked at her husband. "Our children are goofballs."

"True, but they're embracing the spirit of Halloween. Their monster mashing before they eat some monster mash."

Sybil just shook her head as her husband joined their children in singing another monster tune.


	5. Skeleton

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this up. I can best summarize the situation by quoting John Lennon, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." I'm aiming to get another prompt up later today. To make up for the delay, I've doubled the appearance of the chosen prompt.

Also, some of this is loosely based on something from my childhood. It explains a lot about my sense of humor.

* * *

Sybil and Tom were walking through the fancy dress shop together, looking for new decorations for her parents' house. They were enjoying the silence as it was just the two of them. Moira was in school and Rory was with Aunt Edith.

"This is nice," Sybil said.

"What's nice?" Tom asked, looking at a display of skull-shaped cake pans.

"The quiet. I love our children, but they're loud and exhausting."

Her husband chuckled. "I know and we're adding another one to the mix."

Sybil rubbed her belly. "I know."

They reached the end of the aisle and turned into the next, reaching baby costumes. Tom looked at the newborn costumes and smiled on seeing one. He walked over to the shelf and grabbed it to show his wife.

"What do you think of picking something up for the baby to wear? Just in case he or she is born in time for Halloween?"

Sybil was looking at a different set of costumes at that moment and didn't see the one in her husband's hand. She sighed as she turned towards him. "I'm not sure, Tom. I'm not due until the middle of Nov-"

She stopped mid-sentence on seeing the costume he was holding. It was a white infant playsuit with black skeletal bones on it. It was absolutely adorable and her heart melted at the sight of it. "Oh."

Tom grinned. "I thought it was adorable when I saw it. It even has a little hat. It's perfect for a boy or girl."

Sybil hesitated. It was the perfect costume for a newborn, but she doubted she'd give birth before Halloween. He read her hesitation and continued on.

"I know what you were going to say. You're not due until mid-November and more likely we won't need this. But you did give birth to Rory early and this is our third. And we can return the outfit if we don't use it."

Looking at the adorable excitement written all over his face, Sybil didn't have the heart to say no.

"Alright. We'll get it."

Tom happily placed the playsuit into their cart and the couple proceeded to the decoration aisle. Once there, they took their time. They pushed the buttons of all the interactive decorations, jumping at one or two of the scarier ones. Sybil grabbed a couple bags of black garland and Tom chose a black wreath decorated with eyeballs.

While Sybil tried to choose between a scary Harlequin prop and a zombie one, Tom walked ahead to look at the life-size decorations. She was still trying to decide between the two props when her husband returned.

"Tom, which one do you like better? The harlequin or the zombie?"

"The harlequin. What do you think of this?" he asked.

She looked up and her jaw dropped open. Inside their cart, was a life-sized skeleton. She blinked twice and tried to decide how to say hell no to her husband without hurting his feelings.

"I'm not sure. It's rather big and it might scare the kids."

Tom's shoulders deflated slightly, but he quickly rallied to his cause. "Our kids don't frighten easily. Moira and Rory will love him. And he's posable!"

The two went back and forth for fifteen minutes over whether to get it. Sybil finally gave in, but on one condition.

"If either Moira or Rory are scared of the skeleton, you will return it right away. Deal."

"Deal."

They continued shopping and went to checkout, with only a brief stop as Tom picked out an eye patch for the skeleton. Sybil just rolled her eyes.

* * *

 _Several hours later…_

Tom looked at the clock as he posed the skeleton into a sitting position in the living room. The kids would be home at any minute and he wanted them to see him as soon as possible.

He had just finished putting the eye patch on when Moira came bounding through the door followed by Edith carrying Rory.

"Hi, daddy!"

"Hi, love. How was school?"

"It was okay. Oh!"

She stopped talking and was staring at the skeleton. Moira just stood there for a moment, causing Tom to worry. Then, she screamed and ran over to it, excitedly jumping up and down.

"This is great! Look at him! This is going to be the best Halloween ever.!"

Tom chuckled at her reaction. Rory, on the other hand, was just staring at the skeleton. He didn't look scared, but you could never tell. The little boy insisted on being put down and toddled over to his older sister and the skeleton. Again, he just stood there, this time with his head tilted in consideration. Then he screamed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Tom was about to grab him to comfort him when Rory hugged the skeleton. Sybil wandered into the room on hearing her son scream, thinking the skeleton scared him. She was surprised when she saw him hugging the skeleton as her husband and sister laughed.

Moira tugged on her daddy's trousers. "Can we take a picture with him?"

"Of course!"

The kids quickly scrambled onto the couch, each taking a seat next to Captain Bones, as Moira named him. Tom readied his phone camera.

"Okay. On the count of three say Bones! One-Two-Three"

"Bones!"

Sybil just shook her head as she saw her children grinning broadly sitting next to the skeleton.


	6. Costume

Author's Note: This one is purposely shorter. I'm trying to catch up with these prompts as quickly as I can.

* * *

"What color do you want to have your nails painted?" Sybil asked Moira.

The little girl pointed to a bottle on the bottom shelf. "The blue one there. It's a pretty color."

Sybil picked up the bottle and read the name of the shade out loud. "Blue My Mind. Sounds perfect. What color do you think I should get?"

Moira brought her hand to her chin and thought for a moment. "That purple one on the second shelf."

Her mother picked up a bottle. "This one?"

"No, the one next to it."

Sybil picked up the bottle and showed it to Moira, who nodded yes. Again, she read the name of the polish. "Orchid Me Not. I like it."

A few minutes later, mother and daughter were sitting next to each other getting pedicures. It was a long planned mother-daughter day. While Moira and Sybil got mani-pedis and lunch, Tom and Rory were going to a toddler reading event at the family's favorite bookstore.

"Okay, what do you want to be for Halloween?" Sybil asked.

Moira thought a bit before answering. "I'm not sure. I like Rey from Star Wars. And I could be a witch. Or Robin Hood."

Her mother arched an eyebrow at that. "Robin Hood?"

"Yeah. He's cool."

Sybil snorted. "Well, if you go as Robin Hood, we could dress your brother as Little John."

Moira broke out into a fit of giggles.

Once she recovered, the little girl replied, "No, he should be Paddington. He likes the stories a lot."

Sybil thought about it for a moment. "He would be cute as Paddington Bear."

"Yes," Moira replied. "It's the perfect costume since he's such a little devil."

"Moira!"

"Gran calls him that all the time!"

Sybil shook her head. "It takes a little devil to know another little devil."


	7. Leaf Pile

**Author's Note:** I'm slowly catching up! Woo Hoo! I'm dedicating this chapter to the Yankee Countess and Incognito-Princess.

* * *

Matthew was raking the leaves on the lawn of his and Aislinn's house while his wife watched over a sleeping Rory and Moira watched Monsters vs. Aliens. They had agreed to take the kids while his brother-in-law whisked his wife away for a long weekend. With Sybil due to give birth to their third child next month, Tom thought it would be great to go on a mini-babymoon before he and Sybil became outnumbered.

A few minutes later, Matthew heard the door open and little feet hurry towards him.

"Uncle Matthew! Uncle Matthew! Can I help?"

He looked down as his niece ran towards him and hugged his leg.

"You certainly can. There's a small rake over there. You can use it to help me gather the leaves into a pile."

"Got it!"

Moira ran over to to the rake, picked it up, and quickly began to help her beloved the uncle.

Ten minutes passed as they worked before the door opened again, this time with Aislinn carrying a newly awake Rory on her hip she help a mug of tea in the other. Blitzen was at her feet, staying close to the toddler, who was eating a biscuit.

"I see someone's finally awake," said Matthew.

His wife smiled. "He woke up a little while ago. I thought we both could use the fresh air."

Matthew walked over to them and gave his wife a soft peck on the lips. He then picked up Rory.

"Rory, did you enjoy your nap?"

"Yeah," the boy mumbled, his attention completely focused on the leaves.

The little boy began to squirm, wanting to be put down. Matthew placed him down gently and Aislinn and him watched as Rory started to tottle over to his sister. Or they thought he was going to his sister.

As he moved closer to his older sister, Rory picked up speed and began to run. He then jumped into the leaf pile. He landed with a soft thump and began laughing heartily. Blitzen ran after him and jumped into the pile as well.

On seeing how much fun, her younger brother and their dog was having, Moira tossed the rake aside and joined them in the pile. Matthew and Aislinn just watched as their niece and nephew played in the leaves, laughing and tickling each other.


	8. Apple Orchard

**8 October 2016**

Red Road Nursery  
Little Kineton, Warwick, Warwickshire

"Pick that one, darling," Sybil directed Tom.

Tom looked down from the ladder he was on and asked, "This one?"

"Yes."

He picked the apple from the branch and placed it into the basket.

"How many more can we fit, love?"

Sybil looked at their baskets. "I think three more and we should be good."

Tom smiled at his wife and followed her directions as he picked the last three apples. He carefully climbed down and kissed his wife on her temple.

"How are you feeling?"

She gave him a soft smile. "Great. I'm relaxed and this getaway has been fun. As much as I love our children, I definitely needed this trip."

"I'm glad. Now let's go and pay for these apples. I'm starving."

Sybil and Tom picked up their baskets, hers much smaller than his, linked arms and walked slowly to the entrance. Occasionally, they would stop at Tom's insistence so he could take a picture of his wife. In turn, she would insist that he take a picture with her. A half hour later, they finally reached the entrance and paid for their apples.

They had just returned to their car when Sybil pulled him in for a kiss.

"Thank you for taking me here today."

"My pleasure, love."


	9. Mummy

**Author's Note:** This prompt isn't in the list, but when I found this image, I had to write about it and it goes with the previous prompt. It's short, sweet and sort of relates to the previous chapter.

* * *

Tom was driving Sybil and himself home after their long weekend in Warwickshire. Sybil had fallen asleep ten minutes into their trip and that had been nearly an hour ago. After an hour and a half of driving, he was ready for a break.

Thankfully, his wife choose to wake up at that moment.

She rubbed her eyes and mumbled, "I'm hungry."

Tom chuckled. "Hi to you too. Sleep well?"

"I'm sorry. I did, but now I'm hungry. Can we stop soon?"

"Sure. I need to stretch my legs and I could use something sweet."

After driving for several more minutes, Tom saw an exit approaching. "I'll turn off here."

Soon they were in a little village. After driving around for a few minutes, they found a little cafe in the main square. Tom parked the car and together they entered the restaurant.

Once they sat down, they began to discuss their order.

"Are you getting a full meal?" Tom asked.

Sybil shook her head. "No, I just want some pudding."

They looked over their menus and quickly made their decisions. Tom opted for sticky toffee pudding and a cup of coffee and Sybil for warm apple pie with a side of vanilla bean ice cream and a glass of milk.

Minutes later, their food came out and Sybil almost screamed in delight. Her pie was not a slice, but an individual pie decorated to look like a mummy. She reached for her phone and quickly took a picture.

"That looks amazing! Tell the baker that the design made my day!"

Tom laughed at his wife's enthusiasm.

Sybil arched her eye at him. "Don't laugh at me, Tom Branson. It's the ninth day of Halloween after all."

He continued to chuckle as he took a bite of his sticky toffee pudding. He moaned in delight. The next moment, though, he nearly choked, as his wife said something completely unexpected.

Sybil was looking at her pie, ready to dig in. Before she did, though, she uttered, "Are you my mummy?"

Tom broke out in hearty laughter. "I can't believe you just said that."

Sybil ignored him, focusing on her mummy pie and ice cream.


	10. Vampire

I'm sorry that I'm still behind on this fic. I'm working on the next chapter and hope to post it tonight.

* * *

Sybil scrolled through another website, still not finding the right costume. Tom entered the room with two cups of tea, halting when he saw the frustrated look on his wife's face.

"What's wrong, love?"

She sighed. "I can't find the right costume for Blitzen."

An eyebrow rose on Tom's forehead. "Why would the dog need a costume?"

"Moira asked if he could come along trick or treating. I asked dad if he was ready for that and he said Blitzen was a very well behaved dog. So I said yes. She then insisted he have his own costume."

Tom chuckled as he walked over to her, placing her mug next to her. "Give me the laptop. I'll search for a little bit."

Sybil gratefully it over. She picked up her mug of peppermint tea, took a sip, and smiled. "Thank you for the tea. I needed it."

"You're welcome."

For the next fifteen minutes, they sat in silence, enjoying their tea and the silence as Rory napped. Surprisingly, it was Tom and not Rory who broke the silence.

"I think I found the right costume for Blitzen."

Tom turned the laptop so Sybil could see the costume. She chuckled when she saw his choice.

"Dracula." She paused to consider the costume for their beloved chocolate lab. "I think it's perfect!"

Her husband grinned. "I'll go get my wallet to pay for it."

"You do that," she replied.

While Tom went to grab his wallet, Sybil snuggled down further into the couch and took a sip of her tea. _Count Blitzenla will be cute on Halloween_ , she thought.


	11. Zombies

**Author's Note:** I'm watching this movie right now and decided that I had to include it in this story collection.

* * *

Tom ran into the bedroom he shared with his wife and plopped down on the bed.

Sybil chuckled. "Was bedtime that tasking this evening?"

"Your children are impossible," he mumbled.

She laughed harder at that. "What happened?"

"Moira wanted me to keep reading her stories and Rory fought sleep for thirty minutes."

"Do you still have enough energy to watch the film with me? she asked.

He turned his head and smiled at her. "Always."

Tom sat up and wrapped his arm around Sybil as she started _Shaun of the Dead_. It was a tradition for them to watch this at least once each October since they got together. By now, they knew all of the lines. Part of the fun was saying the lines as the movie went along, sometimes even taking turns.

Today, Sybil took on Shaun's lines and Tom took on Ed's.

"Take car. Go to Mum's. Kill Phil - "Sorry." - grab Liz, go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over. How's that for a slice of fried gold?"

"Yeah, boyyyeee!"

Instead of clanging their weapons together as the characters did in the film, the Bransons high fived each other. This went on for the rest of the evening.

When the movie ended, Sybil and Tom readied for bed. As she got into her spot in Tom's arms, a sleepy Sybil said, "That's the best zombie movie ever."


End file.
